British cops meet slain Indian student’s kin (Lead)

Pune, Jan 2 (IANS) British police officers Monday evening visited the grief-stricken family of 23-year-old Indian student Anuj Bidve, who was shot dead in Manchester a day after Christmas. The officers told the family that the body will be handed to the Indian high commission after a second autopsy.

Manchester Police Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson and another officer who is currently corresponding with the family, visited the family here.

“A second post-mortem on Anuj’s body will be conducted Tuesday. If the report of the two pathology reports match, Anuj’s body will be then handed over to the Indian High commission,” Anuj’s sister Nehal Sonawane told reporters after meeting the officers.

“They have arrested five suspects in the murder case. Four were later released on bail, one suspect has been charged. The trial date will be given to us,” she added.

Stating that the family had full faith in the British police, Sonawane appealed to the Indian consulate to quickly hand over Anuj’s body to them.

“A candle light vigil will be held in memory of Anuj. We are still anxious about the repatriation of the body to India,” she said.

Bidve was shot in the head from a close range in the early hours of Dec 26. The gunman is suspected to be a white man in his 20s. Police are treating the killing as a “hate crime”.

A 50,000-pound reward has been offered by police to help catch the killer.

Bidve was a postgraduate student in micro-electronics at Lancaster University.

While three people aged 19, 20, and 16 and two 17-year-olds were arrested in connection with the case Sunday, 20-year-old Kiaran Stapleton, from Ordsall (Greater Manchester) was charged Monday with the murder of Bidve.